"The Quintessential Discourse Radhasoami (Sar Bachan Radhasoami, Prose, Part I & II) is like Plato’s Republic or Justice, having a fundamental argument which rests on canons of science, intuition, intellection and revelation. All the 362 paragraphs are rendered in English and the translation faithfully adheres to the original Hindi text. Throughout this work an attempt has been made to throw light on the abstract and subtle points of the mystique of Rathasoami Faith which is the Sant Mat properly so called.
The introduction analyses’ the leading concepts of the Faith as explained by the Revealer, Sri Shiv Dayal Singh, alias "Soamiji Maharaj", who lived in 1818-1878 at Pannigali in Agra. These discourses were delivered by him during the years 1861-1875 and they were first published in Hindi in 1884 under the caption Sar Bachan Radhasoami, Nasar yani Bartik.
More than sixty basic concepts of Sant Mat have been explained in this work which include aarti; charnamrit; prasad; aitdal; bhent; karmas; disillusions and illusions; bonds and bondage; mukti, moksh and uddhaar; devotional techniques of sumiran, dhyan and bhajan,and shravan, manan and niddhyasan; mysticism; Sufism; sadhana; hindrances to spiritual practices and their removal ; garhat; seva or service to the guru; faith and trust in the Sant Satguru; the importance of finding the guru of the time and the irrelevance of past gurus and past practices and rituals; humility; grace; the role of miracles; interregnum; satsang; Satguru; Satt Naam and Satt Anurag; the process of creation and dissolution; the mystique of the Surat-Shabd-Yoga; the utter barrenness of idol-worship, pilgrimages, fasts and ascetic practices; the technique of getting rid of triyataap; and a complete understanding of yuga dharma or zeitgeist.
The reader will himself notice that Radhasoami Faith is the only way to sangfroid and ataraxia, for it explains the real meaning of vivek, vairag, shat sampatti and mumukshatva and it also exposes the hollowness of outmoded regimes of pranayama and stiff postures." (jacket)
